Seattle Area – Choosing Best Place to Live. I recently received a request to write a new post on this topic. Even I find most of the articles I have read on this topic to be very confusing. Like this one that mixes a few “Really?!?” with the obvious best places. Or this one that […]

One of the great challenges of being on the “bleeding edge” of change in any industry is identifying the words to be used in discussing the new model. The real estate industry is, at more than a century old, steeped in history and culture. So it’s even more of a challenge to create a dialog that accurately captures […]

Conforming loan limits will be slightly higher in 2015 for homes located in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counites. 1 Unit: $517,500 2 Unit: $662,500 3 Unit: $800,800 4 Unit: $995,200 All other counties in Washington state will have the same loan limits in 2015 as they did this year.

Bill Gassett wrote a blog post a couple of days ago titled “Things Buyers Do That Real Estate Agents Hate”. I happen to know and like Bill and would not normally engage in a “correction”, point-counterpoint post with him. However one of my clients posted Bill’s article on his facebook page with this tag “Ardell […]

Seattle Home Buying Seminars Begin January 2015 Are you thinking of buying a house in Seattle in 2015? Or perhaps it’s time to sell your home? Either way, you’ll learn some great information at Quill Realty’s free House Buying Seminars for 2015. We will be offering a free home buying class on the fourth Wednesday of every […]

Early Friday evening one of my favorite long term clients asked me this question: “Why is the market so slow these days? I have an alert for ($) houses in (zip code) and I barely get a couple of hits every week west of (the freeway). Almost always tear-downs.” (actual specifics from his email removed) […]

I am very happy to report yesterday’s news that WalkScore has added a crime overlay, something I have been asking for since WalkScore first came about. Local residents often roll their eyes when they see an awesome walk score attached to an area where it is simply not very safe to walk after dark AT […]

Just received a press release that Costco is leasing 176,656 sf of space from Vulcan (Paul Allen) Real Estate at Sammamish Park Place in Issaquah. Sammamish Park Place is a 3 building complex totalling 586,823 sf with the other two buildings being occupied by Microsoft. This complex was built in or around 2000, so I […]

As long-time readers know, I have been promoting the idea that attorneys should be involved in real estate transactions for about eight years (boy, time flies!). And it took me a looooong time to understand the difference between blogging and shameless self-promotion. I think I’ve learned, and hopefully I strike the right balance and tone here, […]